All He Could Ask For
by Red Over White
Summary: Wormtail was captured, and Sirius was saved from the Depatment of Mysteries during Harry's summer. Harry had never felt happier. But one night before Christmas, something terrible happens that may cause Harry to lose his godfather again.
1. In the Waiting Room

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, so don't sue me.  
  
A/N The next chapter will be violent, so the rating may increase. This is my first *actual* fanfic, I have a songfic 'The Last Beat of My Heart' here, too. But that isn't a full-length fic.   
  
This is set during Harry's Christmas break during his sixth year. As it says in the summary, Sirius isn't dead and Wormtail is in Azkaban.  
  
Please R/R  
  
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Harry waited inside the waiting room at St. Mungo's, staring with his complete attention at the door. Did he belive that it would open simply by his gazing at it? He had been there for hours waiting, watching the clock go by so slowly. Why is it that when he wanted a moment to last forever, it was over as soon as it began? And when he wanted nothing more for the time to go by fast, it seemed to slow down, or even stop...  
  
He stared at the white door again, as though it could speak to him. It could tell him that everything was going to be okay...but nothing.  
  
It was late at night, and the waiting room was empty. It was laden with posters and bright colours, as though trying to give people the false impression that happy moments were spent in this room.   
  
But Harry knew better. He knew that this, being the emergency care room, was where some people have watched their loved ones die, spent the last hours of their lives, or been diagnosed with horrible diseases...he sighed, wondering if another name would be added to that list.  
  
He looked to the door again.  
  
"Why doesn't it ever open?"  
  
At these words, it did.  
  
The Healer walked out, pale-faced and tired. Wearing the trademark lime-green suit. She only spoke a few words to him.  
  
"You can come in, now."  
  
He walked into another room, a bit more plain than the one before it. And Harry couldn't help but notice that there was unmistakeable gloominess in the air. His eyes passed over a row of chairs, in which sat Lupin, Dumbledore, Tonks, Mr. Weasley, and Mrs. Weasley. All looking very peaky and grim.   
  
The terror rose throughout Harry's body unlike any he has ever felt before.  
  
'What if Sirius is dead?'  
  
He had belived this to be true during the end of his 5th year and into the first week of his 6th year. But Sirius had been rescued, and Wormtail caught.   
  
Harry thought he could never be sad again. He spent time with Sirius on the weekends, or when he had no classes. Sirius tried to make the best of their time together. Harry had a great time with Sirius, and was able to do so many things that he would never be able to do with the Dursleys, or even the Weasleys.  
  
Sirius was like a father, a brother, and a best friend. Ron and Hermione got to come along sometimes, too. But his joy soon came to an end.   
  
It was the week before Christmas that it happened Harry, the Weasleys, and Hermione were spending the Christmas holidays at Grimmauld Place.  
  
Maybe they wanted revenge for Wormtail's capture.   
  
Or they may have wanted to hurt Harry again.   
  
Harry didn't know, nor did he want to.   
  
All he knew was that it happened when Sirius was out doing Christmas shopping. It was quite late at night. He remembered he had got very nervous about Sirius not coming home. Harry actually had to go out and find him. He shook his head and brought himself back into reality. He did not want to remember that night. 


	2. Suspension Without Suspense

A/N Thank you for all of the reviews, they really mean a lot to me.  
  
Anyway, there will be a lot of violence in this chapter. If that offends you, don't read it.  
  
Sirius is my favourite character and I mean nothing against him by putting him through this.  
  
This is the events of the night that Harry was thinking about, the reason Sirius is in St. Mungo's  
  
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All He Could Ask For  
  
Suspension Without Suspense  
  
*Sirius's POV*  
  
I turned down the corner, walking though Diagon Alley, shopping for Christmas presents. It had been so long since I've been here.   
  
I looked around, amazed. Was it always this nice outside? I was sure it was just me, I had spent years locked up and I wasn't exactly there to view the scenery. Azkaban was no longer a fear for me, it was only a demon of my past that I still had yet to overcome completely.   
  
Still, I could not believe I was strolling outside, no-one staring at me as though I was some horrible creature that should be caged.And I had a home to come back to. Home, I would never have thought I would call that awful place home again, but I did.   
  
Sure, it was non-conventional, but they had become like a family to me. Compared to the lot I used to live with, there was no doubt that they deserved that status. My godson, Harry, of course I have always considered him family. But now, getting to know him better, actually being *there* for him, there was more of a meaning in that word. Then there were the Weasleys, Molly had warmed up to be considerably, since they all had believed I was dead. And then there were Hermione...and Remus(who wasn't with us at the moment, due to the full moon).   
  
Yes, they *were* my family.  
  
Snow fell from the dark sky, it was ice-cold out. But I was too happy to notice.   
  
Too happy to notice the voices, horribly familiar voices behind me.  
  
"There he is..."  
  
"Okay, not yet....NOW"  
  
"STUPEFY!"  
  
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I awoke, who knows how much later, in an alley.   
  
There was a cut on my hand, but that wasn't exactly my biggest concern.   
  
"Where the hell..."  
  
"Well, well, well..." said a familiar female voice,   
  
"...it seems that we have the filthy doggy in the pound, such a shame that we have to...put him to sleep..."  
  
There was a collected laughter, that echoed around the dimly lit alley. As they took another step closer, I recognized who my abductors were:Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy, Augustus Rookwood, and Walden Macnair.  
  
I plunged my hands into my robes and reached for my wand--it wasn't there. I had left it at home.  
  
I tried to stand up, but I was harshly forced back to the ground by Rookwood.   
  
"So, you thought you'd get away with sending our little friend to prison, did you?" "Yes", I said, but I paid for my stupidity, because, to my horror, I heard Bellatrix shout "Crucio!"  
  
It was a quick one, just a taster(as Bella had said), but it hurt all the same. It was Macnair's turn to speak"No, we have better ways to hurt him..."   
  
He kicked me in the side, another punched me across the side of the face.   
  
I fell to the ground with the force of the contact, and there I laid with my hands over my head.  
  
Bella spoke, "Awww, the widdle doggy is begging..."  
  
She kicked me hard in the shin, I let out a swear word.  
  
"Better watched your barking."  
  
She drove the pointed toe of her shoe into the side of my face. I heard the bone crack, felt the blood gush down. It hurt so badly.  
  
Then, without warning, Lucius slammed the heel of his boot down onto my stomach, making me expel the contents of it onto the ground, as well as down the front of my robes. He did this once more, and, to my horror (and their delight) blood came out, too. I wanted to cry. Bella plunged her hands inside her robes, and took out a knife. She ran it down my side slowly, ripping my robes and making another fresh stream of blood. Then, she jammed it into my flesh, where my ribs were. It felt so horrible and I was bleeding so badly. She ran the knife again, and once more ripping my new grey robes, from my waist and down my leg. And she stabbed my forcefully below the kneecap. I let out a horrible moan of pain, but it only made them laugh harder.   
  
I reached out my hand and made move as though to strangle her.  
  
Malfoy and Rookwood pulled me off of the ground, only to thow me face down back onto it. One of them, I believe it was Rookwood, put his foot onto me so I would not get up.   
  
I yelled out in pain as the others took turns stabbing me, kicking me, and calling me names. When I had the chance to, I would bite or kick one of them. It only made them angrier.  
  
Then, nothing could have prepared me for this, Lucius and Bellatrix held me against the wall, and one of them stabbed me in the back of the head. The incision was deep and wide, I didn't know how deep it went, nor did I want to know, It certainly had gone deeper than the skull. I cried, screamed, every part of my body pounding with pain. My hand held where the cut had been made, I felt the blood seeping through my hair...I felt I was holding on to life in vain. I just wanted to die, for it all to end.   
  
But I had so much to live for. I couldn't die now...I would not...  
  
They kicked me around more, not knowing or caring that I was dying.   
  
Bellatrix used a longer Cruciatus curse on me. I writhed on the ground in the icy-cold snow, feeling like a thousand scorching needles were being inserted into my flesh.   
  
She stopped the curse and my body collapsed, face down, onto the ground. I watched them from the ground, no longer seeing them because of the tears blinding my vision.   
  
Then, at long last, they left me. Lying in my own mess, sobbing. I had my hands over the back of my head, knowing that if I removed them I would surely bleed to death. But at least they were gone.   
  
I don't know how long I laid there, shaking, with the frost biting my wounded face, drifting in and out of consciousness. Hoping against hope that someone, anyone would find me.   
  
Save me... 


	3. Running Red Over White

A/N: Once again, thanks for the reviews.  
  
About the wound in the back of his head: I understand that you wouldn't have much of a chance of living after being stabbed in the back of the head. But, as I can assume from what I've read in Harry Potter, Wizards and Witches are more tolerant to injury than Muggles.  
  
R/R  
  
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All He Could Ask For  
  
Running Red Over White  
  
*Harry's POV*  
  
I sat in a round booth inside a small restaurant in Diagon Alley. Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione were sitting to my left, I took an unhelpful glance at the empty seat beside me, and then to the door. Sirius was to have met us a half hour ago to eat. But he was nowhere to be found. I glanced out the window and to the snowy streets. People smiling, laughing, but their was something restrained about their joy. Perhaps it had to do with the public's awareness of Voldemort's return. Yes, that must be the reason. I wondered if it was like this last time he was in power. I glanced to my right again, increasing the fear that something bad had happened.  
  
I exchanged glances with Mrs. Weasley. She seemed to know what I was thinking because she said, " I think he's just running late Harry..."  
  
I wanted tell her that Sirius wasn't the kind of person to be 'running late' for almost an hour.   
  
"I'm going to find him."  
  
I stood up and tried to make my way to the door.  
  
"You're not going anywhere."  
  
I looked at her, and said, coldly,  
  
"You can't tell me what to do, you're not my mother."  
  
She seemed quite insulted, but maintained her overall calmness.  
  
"I'm sure he's fine, Harry..."  
  
"What if he's not, what if something bad happe-"  
  
I was cut off this time by Ginny.  
  
"Give it rest Harry." She said through gritted teeth.  
  
Hermione spoke now, "He has a point, something bad could've-"  
  
"They're right...", Ron said.  
  
Mrs. Weasley ignored this, and a few minutes later, I asked her again.   
  
"Remember the last time you ran off and..." She stopped, spotting the look on my face.  
  
--you're not of--he's okay..."  
  
"The last time I had a vision, if it was a plan of Voldemort's wouldn't the same thing happen?"   
  
I inhaled, preparing to speak again, "I--we're almost of age, and you don't know if he's okay."  
  
Mrs. Weasley opened her mouth again, closed it, and finally spoke.  
  
"Fine, go...but come back soon and stay in Diagon Alley." She said with obvious effort.   
  
With that, me Ron, and Hermione ran out the door.  
  
"Let's split up...okay...send up red sparks if you're in trouble-blue if you've found him...and green if you've gone back here."  
  
Hermione spoke, "Are really sure something could've happened to him?"  
  
I ignored her. "C'mon, let's go."  
  
Hermione sighed and went right, Ron went the same way, but turned down a street. I went left.  
  
I wasn't thick enough to go calling out his name, so it was going to be a hard thing to do.  
  
I turned down a small street by the Leaky Cauldron, only hearing the sound of my feet hitting the snow. I held my wand out, in case of any attackers. Then I came down a dark alley, I could barely see anything. I watched my feet to insure I wouldn't trip over anything. Wondering why I hadn't done it before, I muttered 'Lumos' under my breath and the tip of the wand lit up. I gasped. The pure-white snow had become crimson. It was running red over white. And I heard someone moaning nearby. My heart skipped a beat, as I stepped through what I now recognized as blood. Looking straight ahead, I saw a dark figure lying in a fetal position. One hand was held against the back of its head.  
  
'Oh God no, please don't be Sirius....anyone but...' They moaned again, I shook, my blood stood still.   
  
Lying there in a bloody mess was my godfather.  
  
I dropped to my knees, then I crossed my legs and sat on the cold ground.  
  
"Sirius?"  
  
I rolled him over face up, and laid his head in my lap. He looked so awful. His face and robes were soaked with blood. There was vomit on his face and down his front. His robes were ribbed and filthy, and one of his legs was bent the wrong way, I couldn't even tell if he was breathing. I placed a hand on his cold face.  
  
"Sirius...please wake up, don't be dead...please be alive..."  
  
Tears were running down my face and my voice was noticeably shaky as I spoke.  
  
He was so cold...his face was whiter than the snow. Was he dead? Memories from last year invaded my mind...no, he couldn't be dead. Not after we had gotten a second chance.  
  
"Sirius?" I said ago, hoping to get some kind of answer.  
  
"Ha-Harry?" he said, his voice expressed the pain that he must have been in. But, I was happy to get some kind of reply.  
  
"Are...--" I thought about what to ask him, 'are you okay?' was such a stupid thing to say to someone in this condition...  
  
Instead, I placed my hand under his head, hoping to give it some support. He let out a groan of pain as I did this, but he told me not to take the hand away. I felt the blooding coming out of the wound. But there was something else too. It was...oh God...his...brains. Tears flowed down faster.  
  
"You'll be okay I..."  
  
Could I promise him he would live through this? No, I couldn't...I had a sudden feeling that I should just end it for him, put him out of him pain and misery. But it went away as soon as it came, how could I ever think to do anything like that to my godfather?  
  
How could--who would hurt him like this? I had to know.  
  
"Sirius who--who did this to you?"  
  
It took him a while to respond. Every word he spoke hurt him.  
  
"Bella, Malfoy, Macnair, and...and Rookwood"  
  
"Dammit, damn them..."  
  
I looked down at my godfather.  
  
"I need to get help...you'll be okay, I...I promise." Through his pain, he smiled at me, I smiled back, only reluctantly. It wasn't a sincere smile, but I had to be strong for him, he was always strong for me...  
  
I took out my wand and sent up blue sparks, I had almost forgotten to do it.  
  
"Ron and Hermione should be here soon, hang on Sirius..."  
  
We were in silence for a while, Sirius hands were over his pallid face.  
  
He looked so awful. His hands were still over his face, I finally realized he was sobbing.  
  
"Harry..." he said finally, "end it...end it for me. It's too late."  
  
My mouth was half-open. He wanted to die..."No...Sirius, you'll be okay...I won't let anything happen..."  
  
"Leave me, if they come back..."  
  
I almost yelled at him for saying that, "They won't! If they do, I'll kill them!...they won't hurt you again, I won't let you down. Nothing or no-one will ever make me let you down."  
  
Suddenly, I heard rapid footsteps coming towards them. For a fleeting moment, I thought the Death Eaters were back to attack...it was Hermione. She had apparently ran here, because she was panting hard and her hair was a mess.  
  
"Sorry...I got here as fast as I can, where's--" there was a loud bang, and Hermione let out a quick shriek. Ron had apparated beside her.  
  
"Ron! You're not supposed to be...you haven't got your licence...you could've gotten, oh my God."  
  
Her ranting had abruptly ended when she noticed Sirius. Both of their mouths were gaped open. Ron spoke first.  
  
"Is he...dead?"  
  
If I were any closer to Ron, I would have hit him.  
  
"No...he's just hurt...badly."  
  
I tried to keep my voice emotionless as I spoke.  
  
"We really need to get someone."  
  
Hermione turned to Ron, a note of panic was in her voice  
  
"Ron, you need to go get your mum, and Ginny. I'll stay behind with them."  
  
She nodded over to Sirius and I.  
  
"Be careful, and don't apparate.", she added as Ron took his wand out again. Hermione moved closer to Ron and quickly kissed him on the cheek. Ron's ears grew red and he stood there, motionless, for a bit. "Ron, go!" Hermione said. Ron was brought back to life by this, he nodded, and ran off.  
  
"Let me see him...", Hermione said, and she kneeled down next to me.  
  
"He's hurt badly," she said after a minute.  
  
I stared at her madly, "I knew that! What are we gonna do?"  
  
"He'll have to go to St. Mungos..."  
  
Agreeing with her, I nodded, but I did not speak. We would wait in silence until Ron came back.  
  
A/N: R/R, and kudos to those who spotted the Siouxsie and the Banshees lyrics in this chapter. 


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